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TONG TANA

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TONG TANA as an ethnographic sound work for radio comprised of field recordings, narrative and prose that describes both the plight of the remaining native forests of Sarawak, on the island of Borneo, and the cosmology of the first peoples who desire to still live in them.

It was commissioned by and broadcast by Austria’s ORF/KunstRadio, Sunday 31 August. I spent two months in Austria, much of that time working on TONG TANA with the support of KunstRadio’s team and the studios at the infamous Funkhaus in Vienna.

You can listen to an archived stream on KunstRadio or this sample from the program.

Feedback:

Just to let you know I listened to TONG TANA early this morning. It was my first streaming experience after a lot of fiddling working how to use until I found the play button! Loved your piece and can see how much work you put into editing it together into the theme of being at one with nature and the impact of the ‘cutting’. As I listened I had the pouring rain dominating my left ear and the Sarawak forest sounds in the other. I could have tuned into the symphony of the forest for a lot longer as it infiltrated every cell of my body and sent me somewhere else. One cannot imagine the loss to those people whose soul and being has been accompanied by those sounds to give meaning to their existence for eons. — Sue, Australia

Its really wonderful. Thank you for sharing.
What amazingly beautiful secrets are in that forest. — Tamara, Austria

Riveted to the spot by your intensely compassionate work…. I hardly took a breath…. I’m deeply moved by what I was emersed in… — Rachel, Australia